


Melt

by SerialObsessor (ibelieveinturtles)



Series: Donuts in My Bra and Other Stories [10]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: 150 follower celebration, Christmas Down Under, Christmas fic, Fic Giveaway, Heatwave, Multi, Tumblr Prompts, beach, celebration prompts, gift fics, summer christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 02:52:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13262091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/SerialObsessor
Summary: If it’s hot, go to the beach.





	Melt

**Author's Note:**

> For my 150 follower fic giveaway on Tumblr.
> 
> pegasusdragontiger said: Omg!! okay okay Ohgod! Can I please have Bucky/Darcy/Steve (A) Christmas Summer 5 ohh In Australia on an extremely hot day! lol IF YOU CAN? i LOVE YOU!
> 
> Beta’d by [phoenix_173/](http://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix_173/pseuds/phoenix_173)

****

 

**Melt**

 

 

The plan to head for the coast for Christmas and get away from the dry desert heat was a good one. Unfortunately, Mother Nature and El Niño just laughed and they found themselves suffering through the hottest Christmas in a century.

Darcy had somehow managed to find a pair of beach shacks that were far enough away from the crowded tourist beaches to avoid accidental discovery, but close enough to a township that they wouldn’t have to drive half the day just to stock up on supplies.

On the plus side, they were close to one of the most pristine beaches any of them had ever seen; on the down side, there were a dozen people crammed into the two tiny shacks, and the air conditioning was dodgy at best, and inoperative at worst.

Most mornings, everyone got up, had breakfast, and then scattered.

Steve, Bucky, and Darcy were the first up today, and after a quick breakfast of cereal and iced coffee, they grabbed towels, a large beach umbrella, sunscreen, a small esky filled with fruit, water, salad, and leftover Christmas ham, and headed for their favourite hideaway.

Immediately out the front of the shacks, there was a three kilometre stretch of beach, framed at each end by rocky outcroppings. At one end, there was another long beach on the other side, but in the other direction there were several smaller beaches, each separated from the next by the rocks that jutted out into the ocean. One of them came with a nice clearing in the scrubby jungle that lined the beach, with just enough shade to keep them cool, and perfectly positioned to catch any breeze that might sweep past. Steve and Bucky had dragged a pair of ancient banana lounges up there the day they found it, and it had become their home away from home most days.

Today was the hottest day since they’d arrived. There was no breeze, no clouds, and no end in sight. By 9am the mercury had already reached 40 degrees and was still climbing.

Darcy sat beneath the big, shady beach umbrella they’d erected at the junction of beach and jungle, oversized sunglasses hiding the top half of her face, and smiled to herself as she watched Steve and Bucky trying to protect their sandcastle from the greedy waves of the encroaching tide. They’d built a wall, and a moat, and another wall, but it was a battle that was doomed to inevitable failure. Even so, as stubborn, obstinate and pigheaded as they both were, the two men fought gallantly to the last grain of sand.

(Not that the misshapen, lumpy construction was even worth saving – in her humble opinion – but it was keeping her men out of trouble, and they were happy and carefree, if only for a short time.)

She lay back on one of the battered old sun lounges and tipped her head back, wiping her damp hair away from her sweaty face. It was too hot to do anything except lay there and sweat. And melt. She felt like the Wicked Witch of the West. She couldn't understand how Steve and Bucky had any energy for moving, at ALL.

She was startled out of yet another attempt to nap by someone showering her with a spray of water. She shot up with a shriek that was more from the surprise than anything else. The water wasn't exactly cold, just unexpected.

“ARGH! What the hell?”

“You looked hot. Thought you might like to cool down.” Bucky grinned at her as he shook his wet head at her again.

She instinctively shrunk away and stuck her hands up as more droplets of water showered over her.

“You should come in,” he added. “You look miserable.”

“I'm just hot,” Darcy said as she sank back into the chair. “And you know if I go out there for any amount of time I'll look like a lobster. I burn, remember? No sunburn-preventing super serum in these veins,” she grumbled.

Bucky nodded understandingly as he squatted down beside her and planted a damp, salty kiss on her mouth. “What if we take the umbrella down to the water’s edge and set you up down there?” he said, smoothing her hair away from her face. “The water isn’t exactly cold but it’s better than being out here.”

Darcy closed her eyes, fanning herself with one hand. “I think I’d be happy to try anything at this stage. Let’s do it.”

Bucky stood up again and held his hand out to help her up. With a sigh and a smile, she grabbed it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She watched as he wrestled the giant umbrella out of the sand but the moment she put a foot on the sand she discovered the flaw in the plan.

“Ow!” She snatched her foot back and hopped around for a moment, grabbing Bucky's arm so she didn't fall over. “Oh my god. That's so hot!” she complained. “How can you walk on that?”

Bucky shrugged. “I didn’t even notice,” he said, turning around and yelling at Steve, who was paddling in the shallows. “STEVE! Get your ass up here!”

Steve turned to look, and then trotted up the beach to join them.

“What's up?” he asked.

“Sands too hot for Darcy to walk on,” Bucky explained. “I can't carry her and the umbrella.”

“Say no more.”

Steve whisked Darcy off her feet and into his arms before he'd even finished the sentence. She was only a little bit surprised that he felt cooler to her skin than the air did.

“Where to, my lady?”

“We’re gonna set up the umbrella and Darcy’s deckchair down at the water’s edge,” Bucky explained. “It’ll be cooler.”

The trio set off down the beach, Bucky holding the beach umbrella as if it was an ordinary, rain umbrella, and Steve carrying Darcy so her feet didn’t need to touch the scorching hot sand. Bucky rammed the umbrella into the sand at the water’s edge while Steve put Darcy down in the water before heading back to retrieve the lounge she’d been lying on.

“This is so nice,” Darcy sighed, paddling around and around the umbrella in a circle until Steve rejoined them. As he approached, he threw something at Bucky. It was the bottle of sunscreen.

“C’mere.” He motioned to Darcy to come closer to him as he flipped up the lid of the bottle. “Better put some more of this on,” he insisted. “Can’t be too careful.”

“Wait a minute!” Darcy waded out into deeper water, and then sank into the warm ocean until it covered her shoulders. “Ohhhh,” she moaned. “That’s so good.” She rose out of the water again, wading back towards the umbrella.

“Alright, slop it on,” she said, holding her arms out like a scarecrow so Bucky could start slathering her with the cream.

Steve arranged the old banana lounge under the umbrella, burying the legs carefully in the sand before coming over to help Bucky coat Darcy with sunscreen. They were extremely conscientious, paying careful attention to every exposed inch of her body. It probably took them longer than it needed to, but considering it was the most action any of them had gotten during the heatwave, she enjoyed every minute of it.

She lay back on the sun lounge as Bucky challenged Steve to a swim along the beach, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

It was the splash of water over her legs that woke her up. She sat up, startled, and looked around frantically until she remembered where she was.

“You okay there, Darce?”

She turned her head to see Steve lying on the other sunlounge, which had been dragged down the beach and placed next to hers.

She smiled at him. “Yeah, just startled, that’s all. Where’s Bucky?”

“He went for a walk, said he was too restless to sit still.” He rolled over to face her. “You have a nice sleep?”

“Sure did,” she replied. “This was a good idea.” She twisted on the lounge and put her feet in the water. “Swim with me?”

They floated peacefully in the ocean together until Bucky returned at a fast jog. He had an insulated cooler bag slung over his shoulder, and was carrying a small plastic kids table in one hand.

“I wonder what he’s got in that,” Darcy wondered out loud.

“Shall we go find out?”

Steve and Darcy swam towards the umbrella as Bucky planted the table firmly in the sand beneath it, dropped the bag onto it, and waited for them to reach him.

“What ya got there, Buck?” Steve asked as they approached.

Bucky grinned. “The best thing you can have on a disgustingly hot day like today.”

He unzipped the bag, but all they could see was well packed ice. Bucky stuck his hand in, and then drew out the first of three wrapped ice-creams.

“Eat up,” he said, handing them over. “They won’t last long.”

They sat under the umbrella, the incoming tide lapping against the lounges as they tore off wrappers, laughing as they raced to eat the rapidly melting confections before they disappeared entirely, taking it in turns to lick up the drips from each other’s hands and arms.

“Hey, look at that.”

Bucky and Steve turned their heads to see what Darcy had spotted. Far out on the horizon they could see dark clouds gathering. Even as they watched, a cool breeze wafted across the beach, and flashes of lightning flickered across the grey.

For a brief moment, they stood there with arms around each other’s shoulders and watched the approach of the storm.

A cool change was coming.

**Author's Note:**

> This can be read as a WinterShieldShock Outback Retreat Au. Maybe. If you want to.
> 
> The original prompt picture came from a google search. The other photos in the graphic are from the internet and my own personal collection.
> 
> My Tumblr, if you're interested, is [ibelieveinturtles](http://ibelieveinturtles.tumblr.com/)


End file.
